We All Fall Down
by KamalaC
Summary: *Sequel to Mistakes* Castiel receives a phone call that sends him into a tail-spin. Dean receives information on John's death, threatening to tear the three apart. Gabriel wonders if he's going to survive this latest disaster in their lives. Dean/Gabe/Cas
1. Chapter 1

Summary: A few months after the events of Mistakes We Make, Castiel receives a phone call that sends him into a downward spiral, returning to alcohol and pills in an effort to forget. While Gabriel tries to keep Cas from self-destructing, Dean and Sam receive information on John's death that threatens tear the threesome apart again.

A/N: Yup, gave in and started on the sequel. And this time it's not even Speedfanatic's fault! Wow. This one will probably be around half the length of Mistakes, with two distinct plotlines to resolve. Of course it may grow longer, I'm not going to restrict myself.

Warnings: Drug use, mentions of psychological abuse, sexual references, angst (in case you couldn't tell from the previous story, and the title).

-WAFD-

Castiel stared at the computer screen. He just couldn't believe what he was seeing, couldn't believe the article he'd just read. Baldur had forwarded the link to them, not realising the effect it was going to have on Castiel.

Lucian had been elected mayor of the town he'd settled in.

His breath was coming in short pants, and Castiel could feel the panic starting to settle in. He'd been edgy where his older brother was concerned for years, the mere mention of him often enough to send Castiel into a downward spiral. If he'd done so well, won such a big election…

The phone rang, and Cas closed his eyes, knowing who it was and considering not answering. But then he'd just leave a message on the machine, and then Gabriel would hear it. He couldn't let that happen. He'd never told Gabriel just how bad things had gotten at home.

"…Hello," he whispered into the receiver, voice and hand both shaking.

"Hey, little brother," Lucian's smooth voice came down the line. "Heard the big news?"

"Yeah. You… you've done well for yourself."

"Mmhm. And you're still unemployed, uneducated, sponging off of Gabriel and Dean."

"…Yes." Castiel felt his throat tighten. It was going to be bad this time.

"So tell me, how does it feel to know that you couldn't even keep hold of your boyfriend? Knowing that he's been through hundreds of other men and women, spreading his legs for money, much as you did for drugs?"

"Stop it." His voice cracked, and the tears started gathering.

"Hmm, no, I don't think I will. I've made something of myself, even after you tried to destroy our family. Michael's been promoted to major, and I hear he's thinking of proposing to his girlfriend. And even Gabriel's doing well, climbing the corporate ladder. You, however… you are nothing, and always will be."

"Lucian, please…" Castiel heard his brother laugh, even as he started to cry, almost silently.

"You're pathetic. A wreck of a human. Mum should have just aborted you."

He couldn't speak any more, the sobs coming faster.

"Well, I'd love to chat some more, but I've got a press conference to attend. I'll call you again."

With that, Lucian hung up the phone. Castiel hung up as well, then sank to the floor, leaning against the wall as he let the tears flow. This happened every time something went well in Lucian's life, or he found out about something particularly bad in Castiel's.

Feeling the bile start to rise, Castiel stumbled to the bathroom, barely making it in time to empty his stomach into the toilet. He hated himself for being this weak, for letting Lucian get to him like this, but he couldn't help it. Couldn't resist the power Lucian would always hold over him.

He flushed the toilet once he was sure that he'd finished, and made his way back to the kitchen. All he wanted to do was forget, and neither Dean nor Gabriel was at home to help him.

The first thing to get consumed was the six-pack of beer in the fridge. He hoped that if he got drunk quickly enough, he wouldn't do anything else, wouldn't go any farther. But part of him knew it was hopeless.

Cas was hopeless. He was twenty six years old, and he couldn't even hold down a job. He'd failed his accounting course, having spent too much time with Dean and Gabriel, not enough time studying. He didn't contribute anything to the house, other than his body at nights. Hell, the others probably wouldn't care if he wasn't there anymore. Then at least they could go out in public, claim each other as a loving couple.

The beer was gone, and he was still conscious. He glanced at the clock, and saw that someone should be home soon. He stumbled to the front room, falling down a couple of times, then sat heavily by the window, watching for one of his lovers to come back and help him.

Then he remembered – Gabriel wasn't going to be home until late, there was this big event that he was helping to run. And Dean was going to be at least another hour, the mechanic where he'd found work was always busy the week before a public holiday.

Which meant there was nothing to distract him, nothing to keep his mind focused.

Nothing to stop him from doing something really stupid.

Castiel tried to get up again, but couldn't keep his balance. So instead he crawled into the office, and dug into the bin. Some girl at a party last week had slipped the bag of pills into his pocket, and he'd thrown them out as soon as he got home, determined to be strong and ignore the call. Now, however, they were just what he needed.

Shaking a little, he opened the bag and swallowed one of his little pink friends, welcoming the nothingness that fizzed away all his concerns as he curled up on the floor.

-WAFD-

Hands are pulling at him, and there are raised voices. He thinks that he knows one, has heard it before, and he leans up to grab at it. He can feel skin under his hands, there's a person there, and he manages to drag them down into a kiss. He's been wanting this ever since everything else faded, has been hard and aching for someone, anyone.

The person is pushing him away, and he feels something drip onto his face. The voice is screaming now, and he's pushed to the floor. He whimpers, trying to reach out again, but there's nothing there anymore.

Then there's someone near again, and he manages to pull them off balance so that they're on top of him. He moans as he feels pressure against his groin, and arches up into the person. His legs are spread wide, he wants something, anything to relieve the tension curling inside of him.

There's movement above him, and he feels the drip again. He sticks his tongue out, licks at the drops, and they're salty. Sadness, they taste like sadness, and he whimpers again, arching again to try and make the person happy. He tries to speak, to beg, but words have gone again.

His hands are pinned to the ground, and he can hear The Voice again, the one that always calms him when this happens. And the fact that he recognises it means that he's starting to come out of it, he doesn't want to go back, he wants to stay like this forever. But he does recognise it, and soon he can hear the words properly, and they make him feel sad and useless.

"You promised me, Cas. You promised never again!"

Cas, he's Cas, and The Voice is Gabby. He starts to cry as it all comes flowing back, and he knows he's been lying here too long, because he remembers how to work his voice.

"I'm sorry," he sobs, voice harsh and broken. "I'm so sorry."

-WAFD-

Gabriel had felt unwell, unable to concentrate, and so had left the party early. It would be just fine without him, there were enough other employees there that they wouldn't miss him. Besides, he'd been wanting to spend some quality time training Toffee. They'd been kicked out of one training class, he wanted to get the basics down before trying at another.

He didn't see the Impala when he got home, but that wasn't really news. Dean was probably still at work. He'd been working late all week, which was good on the money front. Since Castiel still couldn't hold down a job for more than a month, the other two had to work hard to pick up the slack. Not that he really minded – it was nice to have someone at home, doing the general housework and gardening. Cas had an impressive vegetable garden set up in the front yard, where Toffee couldn't dig it up, and Dean was pleased to be able to use fresh veggies in his cooking.

Letting himself in, Gabriel wondered at the lack of lights. Maybe Castiel was already asleep… although that only happened when his little brother was ill. He caught sight of Cas' laptop sitting on the dining table, and wandered over to have a look. When he saw the article still open, he froze.

Shit.

Gabriel wasn't an idiot. He'd noticed that in the past, every time Cas had gone into a tailspin, it had been preceded by news of their older brother. Quickly going into the kitchen, his fears were confirmed when he saw the six empty beer bottles lying on the floor.

He ran from room to room then, frantically looking for his little brother and trying to remember what was in the house. Was there anything stronger than beer?

When he got to the office, he froze, heart clenching. He'd seen Castiel throw something in the bin after they got home from a party last week. At the time, he'd thought it was just a random chick's phone number, and had forgotten about it pretty quickly. Now, though…

Castiel was lying on his side, curled up and purring. One hand was clutching at a bag of pills, and Gabriel felt sick to his stomach.

"Cas… what have you done?" He whispered, already knowing the answer. He heard the front door close, and Dean stumbling in the dark before flipping on the light.

"Anyone home?" The deep voice called out.

"Dean, help me!" Gabriel shouted back, falling to his knees beside Castiel. He tried to get Cas to sit up, even as he heard Dean pounding down the hall towards them.

"What… holy shit, is he okay?"

"No," Gabriel choked out, before Cas managed to grab him back and kiss him. Gabriel could feel himself start to cry as he recognised the symptoms. He pushed Cas away and started screaming at him, wanting to hit him, only he couldn't because Dean was kneeling behind him, arms wrapped around him to keep him away from their lover.

"He's used again," Gabriel screamed, hating Castiel in that moment. "He fucking promised me!"

"I know, I know," Dean was trying to calm him down, but he didn't know what to do. He'd never been there before when Castiel gave in to an addiction, and it was unsettling to see his lover lying on the ground, making little movements as though trying to reach out to them. A movement of Castiel's hips brought attention to the fact that he was rather aroused by whatever it was he'd taken.

Dean loosened his grip on Gabriel when the older man stopped struggling so much, and they both moved closer to Castiel. Gabriel reached out to his brother, only to be pulled down so that he was lying on top of Cas. The younger man moaned and pressed his groin up, spreading his legs and trying to wrap them around Gabriel's.

Horrified, Dean watched as a tear fell from Gabriel's face down onto Castiel's, and Cas licked it up. Castiel whimpered then, arching his back and trying to rub against Gabriel. He'd opened his mouth, apparently trying to speak, but the noises weren't forming proper words, and instead he reached up again, managing to grab Gabriel's neck in an attempt to drag his brother in for another kiss.

"Cas, stop it!" Gabriel begged. "You know I hate it when you're like this, please, I never want to see you like this."

Dean gently reached out and grabbed Castiel's hands, pinning them to the ground. It was the only thing he could think of to do, to try and help Gabriel out. In truth, he was getting turned on a little by the way Castiel seemed so desperate for physical attention – if it weren't for the fact that Gabriel was so upset, and Cas didn't actually seem to recognise them, then Dean would have been encouraging them both to get undressed.

"You promised me, Cas," Gabriel pleads, heart breaking as he saw the signs of his brother coming out of his drug-induced haze. "You promised never again!"

With that, Castiel started crying and shaking uncontrollably, and Gabriel knew that he was back.

"I'm sorry," Castiel spoke around his gasps for air, closing his eyes and trying to curl into a ball. "I'm so sorry."

"Cas, talk to me," Gabriel leaned down and nuzzled his neck. "What happened? Why did you take it?"

But Castiel was beyond reach again, this time lost in grief instead of drugs, and Gabriel couldn't get any response other than the repeated apologies.

"Come on," Dean managed to lift Castiel in his arms and started carrying him towards the bedroom. "Let's get some sleep. We'll talk in the morning."

Gabriel followed slowly, heart breaking with each step. He knew that Cas wouldn't talk to them in the morning, or possibly ever. He'd never opened up to Gabriel about the deeper reasons behind his addictions, and he didn't think that even Dean could get through to Castiel this time.

They didn't bother undressing, just removed their shoes and crawled under the cover, Castiel held tight by both of his lovers.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Dean and Gabriel make a smart decision, for once in their lives – it looks like there won't be as much Gabe-whumping this time around.

Warnings: Dealing with drug and alcohol abuse. Reference to violence.

-WAFD-

The next morning, Gabriel was woken by Castiel rubbing against him and kissing him. He went along with it for a few minutes, before remembering why they were all fully dressed still.

"Cas, stop," he pulled back, trying to be firm. Then he caught the full power of Castiel's puppy-dog eyes, and groaned. "We need to talk about this."

"No," Castiel said firmly, and went back to exploring with his hands, moving to nip and kiss at Gabriel's neck as well. He ran a hand underneath Gabriel's shirt, then down to try and remove his brother's trousers.

Gabriel managed to shake some sense into his own head, and pulled back further, ending up sitting on the edge of the bed. He looked over as Dean started to wake up, and Castiel pouted before turning to the youngest man. Dean was still asleep enough to respond without thinking as Castiel kissed him – until, of course, Gabriel leaned over and poked him in the side.

"Dean, wake up. Cas, stop trying to distract us."

"Fuck off," Cas muttered against Dean's lips. Unfortunately for him, Dean woke up completely and moved away as well, leaving Castiel lying there, refusing to look at either of his lovers.

"Cas," Dean tried to reason with him. "What happened? Why'd you take… whatever it was you took?"

Castiel was silent, curled up on his side, staring at his hands. Gabriel reached around him and covered them with his own, but Castiel just closed his eyes.

"C'mon man," Dean tried again. "You know you can talk to us. We just want to take care of you. Please?"

Gabriel sighed. It looked like he was going to be proven correct again – Cas wasn't opening up. In fact, he seemed to be closing himself off even more.

"Just give us a chance," Dean was pleading. "We love–"

At that, Castiel quickly pulled the covers back over his head, effectively ending the conversation. Gabriel winced – he really should have warned Dean about that particular phrase. He caught Dean's eye and nodded towards the door. Apparently it was time to teach Dean how to handle a drugged-out Cas.

He was not looking forward to this conversation.

-WAFD-

"You got any idea why he did it?" Dean asked as he and Gabriel sat eating breakfast together.

"Some," Gabriel admitted. "His laptop was open when I got home, there was an article about how Lucian got elected mayor. Things were pretty tense between him and Cas when they were alone together, and the mere mention of him is enough to set Cas off now."

"Bloody arrogant bastard," Dean muttered. Gabriel nodded in agreement.

"I never understood it. He was always a good big brother to me, helped me with homework, covered for me if I did something to upset Michael… I just don't get how he could hate Cas so much."

"Is Cas gonna be okay?"

"I dunno," Gabriel admitted with a sigh. "Last time, when Lucian won an award of some sort… Castiel went on a week-long binge. It was a few years ago, and it's the closest I've come to leaving him."

"You'd…" Dean swallowed hard. "You'd leave him for this?"

"I don't want to," Gabriel defended himself quickly. "I love him, you know I do. But I can't stand seeing him do this to himself. And when it involves Lucian, he won't let me help. Won't talk to me at all, just begs for drugs and sex and booze."

"There's nothing we can do?"

"Not really," Gabriel pushed his spoon through his cereal, not really eating much. He never could when Cas got like this. "Just make sure he sleeps, try to keep him from sleeping with other people for drugs, try to keep him showered and fed… and since this was something big for Lucian, I've got no idea how long Cas will try to hide from reality." He sighed, feeling as though his heart was breaking. Sadly, it was a familiar feeling where Castiel was concerned. "And don't mention that either of us loves him. I don't know why, but it sets him off even worse. I… he'd probably be happy to have sex with you, but I can't. I just can't… y'know, get it up, when he's like this. Maybe if you can, it might help."

Dean swallowed hard. While intellectually he'd accepted that Castiel was an addict, he'd never actually seen him like this. It was a shock to the system, and his respect for Gabriel reached new heights.

"Hey Gabe?"

"Yeah?"

"With everything you've done for Cas, and me… you're a freakin' saint. You know that, right?" With that, he leaned across and gently pressed his lips to Gabriel's, trying to make up for everything with a single kiss. He heard and felt Gabriel sigh in acceptance, then pulled back a bit. "At least this time, you don't have to deal with him by yourself. Just tell me what you need, I'll do what I can to help."

"Thanks," Gabriel whispered, leaning his head against Dean's shoulder and closing his eyes for a moment. "I just need you to stick around."

"Pretty sure I can do that. You want me to call in sick for us?" Both of them were meant to be at work in a couple of hours, but neither wanted to leave Castiel like this.

"You should go to work," Gabriel decided. "They knew I was feeling shitty yesterday, so I'll call in for myself. They'll believe me."

"Okay," Dean nodded and grabbed their mostly full dishes. Neither was really interested in eating much, so he emptied the bowls into Toffee's, and opened the door to let the puppy inside.

Toffee immediately ran over to his dish and started lapping up the milk, both men watching as slight smiles played around their mouths. As crappy as they felt, watching Toffee eat was always entertaining.

-WAFD-

When Dean got home that night, he was immediately greeted with an armful of Gabriel. He quickly hugged back, rubbing the shorter man's back in an attempt to calm him down. A side-effect of how they'd re-met at the brothel was that Dean was now highly protective of Gabriel, quick to anger if anyone threatened him. Castiel was the same, even though Gabriel was the oldest, and usually they all found it amusing.

Now though, Dean looked down and saw that Gabriel's cheek was bruised, and he felt anger flood through him. He realised that once again, he and Castiel were going to fight over Gabriel's safety, only this time on different sides.

"What happened?" Dean whispered into Gabriel's hair, holding him tighter for a moment.

"He tried to go searching for more drugs," Gabriel refused to meet Dean's eyes. "I managed to keep him here, we got in a fight… as soon as he realised that he'd hit me he backed off, curled up in a corner of the bedroom. He won't even look at me now."

Dean continued holding him, and bent his neck to start pressing kisses to Gabriel's face. He was pissed, true, but he'd deal with Castiel later. Right now, Gabriel needed comfort.

"It's okay, Gabe," Dean whispered, hands simply stroking up and down Gabriel's back, not pushing for anything more. "I'm here, I can keep him restrained if we need to."

"I know," Gabriel smiled a little. Dean was by far the most muscled of the three men, since his job involved a lot of heavy lifting – and before that, no one would have wanted an unfit prostitute. "I know, it just… I hate seeing him like this. And I hate Lucian for having a part in making him do these things, so then I hate myself a little for blaming Lucian…"

"Lucian's a dick," Dean said firmly, drawing a chuckle from Gabriel. "Even Sammy said so, a few years back." He then took a deep breath, steeling himself for what he figured was going to be an argument. "Gabriel, if he's physically lashing out… we can't handle this by ourselves. He needs help. Proper help." Gabriel pulled back a little, and Dean looked him in the eye. "I called Doctor Evans. She said she can see him tonight."

"Dean…" Gabriel started to protest, then fell silent. He couldn't deny the fact that Castiel was falling apart, and he wasn't sure that he could fix his little brother this time. Add to that the fact that Dr Evans had been helping Dean to get over his own anger management and self-esteem issues, and perhaps this was the best course of action. "D'you think it'll work?" He asked instead of trying to stall further. "I don't know how much longer I can deal with him."

"He's usually fine," Dean pointed out. "It's just Lucian that sets him off. If he can get help, learn to deal with whatever happened, then yeah. Things will get better."

"Okay," Gabriel nodded. "Okay. Now to get him to go along with it…"

"Don't worry about that," Dean stepped away, heading for the bedroom. "I'll convince him."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: This was gonna go in a different direction. Then, when I was falling asleep, the entire chapter filtered into my brain, and I had to follow it. It's mostly exposition, and covers a lot of things that have already been covered, but this time Cas is actually talking to someone who might be able to help him. And who better than Pastor Jim! After all, the guy didn't shoot John for dragging his kids around the country hunting for demons, he's gotta have a pretty high tolerance for stupid decisions.

Warnings: Mentions of threesome, gay sex, incest, drug and alcohol abuse, verbal and physical assault on a minor. Meaning: Cas goes to confession.

-WAFD-

"Cas!" Dean called, walking into the bedroom. He blinked and looked around, not seeing Castiel in the room. "Cas?" He tried again, confused.

"What's wrong?" Gabriel appeared in the doorway, and Dean felt a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"Gabe… he's not here."

"Shit."

-WAFD-

Castiel felt awful. He was walking down the road, hands shoved into his jeans pockets, trying to work out what to do next. It hadn't been difficult to slip out of the house via the back door while Gabriel and Dean were distracted, now he just had to figure out where to go.

Every time he considered going in search of something mind-altering, he remembered punching Gabriel, and had to fight the urge to vomit. He knew that Gabriel was going to forgive him – he always did – it didn't mean that he felt any less guilty about it. Damn his temper.

It felt like he'd been walking for hours, when he came to a stop at a church. He felt his shoulders shaking in sudden laughter, remembering when Michael had explained about their names.

He missed Michael.

The memory of praying together with Michael as a child encouraged him to walk up the steps and slip inside, looking around. There was an evening service in progress, and a decent sized congregation. Castiel found an empty seat at the back, hidden in a corner, and drew his knees up to his chest. The words of the priest – a female, which was a new idea to him – washed over him, soothing, talking about Moses and the exodus.

Castiel watched the young priest, and felt a sense of melancholy. She was certain in her faith, in her profession. She was better than him, even if she looked younger.

He bowed his head, resting his forehead on his knees, and closed his eyes. There was something here, something he'd missed for a long time. He was drawing a few puzzled glances, he knew, but no one was trying to interfere in his life. They were giving him space while still being present, even if they didn't realise what they were doing or why he needed people at the moment.

He didn't notice when the people around him were moving, didn't realise that the church was slowly emptying. Not until he felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up into a kind face.

"You look like you could do with a nice cup of tea," the man spoke gently. "The rest of the congregation is gathered in the back hall. Would you care to join us?"

Castiel swallowed hard, then looked down, shaking his head a little. He wasn't ready to face people in a social situation, not right now.

"My name's Jim Murphy," Castiel felt it as the man sat next to him on the pew. "Most call me Pastor Jim. I've been the preacher here for thirty years."

There was a pause, but Castiel didn't feel inclined to fill the silence.

"I'm fairly sure that I haven't seen you here before. But I have seen the look before. You feel so lost that you don't know who to turn to."

A small nod, and Cas couldn't meet his eyes.

"This isn't a Catholic church, and I'm pretty sure you're not overly religious, but I am still a priest. Here to listen. I won't tell anyone if you want to talk. Maybe I can point you towards the right people to help with your problems."

"I'm not…" Castiel swallowed again, trying to regain his self-control. "I don't want to be a burden," he finished in a small voice. He really didn't want to trouble someone – a priest, especially – with how screwed up his mind was. But he was at the end of his tether, as he'd proven when he'd lashed out at Gabriel. He needed help.

"Son," Pastor Jim settled back, not touching Castiel but close, "I've got nothing better to do than to listen."

Castiel nodded, smiling a little. The preacher had an odd air about him – it was comforting, and he knew that the man was willing to listen to him, but he didn't feel as though he needed to fill the silence. It felt as though Pastor Jim would be just as happy to sit here and say nothing. So he looked up at the stained glass windows, at the angels depicted in them, and let the images and presence soothe him.

"That one's the Archangel Michael," Pastor Jim spoke softly, "and the Archangel Gabriel."

"They're my brothers," Cas whispered. The preacher glanced at him.

"In a manner of speaking, certainly. We are all brothers in the eyes of the Lord."

"No," Castiel smiled again. "My brothers are named Michael and Gabriel. I'm Castiel."

"Religious family?" Pastor Jim inquired.

"I don't really know. Gabe says that Mom just liked the sound of the names. She… she died giving birth to me." Familiar guilt welled up in him then, and he hung his head in shame.

"Castiel…" the priest seemed to be thinking. "Angel of Thursdays and temperance, right?"

"Temperance," Castiel choked out a laugh. "If only."

There was silence again for a while, as Castiel tried to get himself under control. He'd never admitted this out loud before, but somehow the fact that he was talking to a complete stranger helped. This man had no idea of his insane family life.

"I'm afraid," he admitted, voice barely audible.

"Of anything in particular?" Pastor Jim spoke just as softly, for which Castiel was grateful.

"My other brother. Lucian."

"Is there a reason he scares you?"

"He… he had my boyfriend's father killed."

There was silence again, and Castiel fought not to panic. He'd just told a priest that he was gay, and that his brother was murderer. Could the day get much worse?

"Have you told the police?"

Castiel risked a glance at Pastor Jim, and felt some of the tension leave. The older man didn't look disgusted. Instead he seemed concerned about Castiel, who shook his head.

"It was ten years ago. I was… he did it so that Dean would leave me. And he did, took his little brother and ran so that the social workers wouldn't separate them. Lucian had taken mine and Gabriel's phones away, so we didn't even know until it was too late. And he said… he said that if I tried to get away, he'd kill me too. Kept telling me how I screw everything up, it's all my fault… I made our Dad leave us, I corrupted Gabriel… I couldn't even fight back when Lucian took a swing." Castiel was breathing hard, though he wasn't crying. The tears just weren't there, even though he was shaking and wished for some sort of release. "I didn't fight him, just let him, and then I let the drugs and drinks and sex keep my mind off of what was happening at home, and then Gabriel came back to save me and I…" he felt a hand rubbing up and down his spine then, helping him to calm and start breathing normally again. He closed his eyes again, knowing the next confession would send the priest jumping back but unable to stop the flow of words.

"I seduced my brother. Used him as a replacement for the drugs."

The hand on his back paused for several seconds, and Castiel tensed in readiness for it to strike him.

"Did you force yourself on him?" Came the quiet question, and it sounded more of a mild enquiry than a harsh reprimand.

"I don't know," Castiel admitted. "He says that he lo… loves me," he choked a little on the word, "and that he'd thought of me like that before. But he wouldn't have done anything if I didn't keep begging for it. If I didn't keep touching and trying to kiss him, he wouldn't have acted on it."

The hand resumed its strokes, and Cas could have wept with relief. There was no condemnation here.

"And do you love him the same way?"

"Yes," came the answer, no hesitation. "He and Dean are everything to me."

"Dean?" Pastor Jim was mildly quizzical again. "Your boyfriend ten years ago?"

"Our boyfriend now," Cas muttered. "The three of us live together… one bed between us."

The priest said nothing again, and Castiel wondered just how high this guy's tolerance was.

"During ancient times," Pastor Jim spoke slowly, carefully choosing his words, "it was not… uncommon for a man to have two wives."

"And was it significant-pause uncommon for a man to shack up with his brother and their male lover?" Castiel couldn't help the snappish response, but immediately felt guilty about it. "Sorry."

"I haven't ready of any situations exactly like yours, no," the priest didn't seem offended. "But… is it consensual between all three of you?"

"It is now," Cas nodded. "Dean and Gabriel… when we met Dean again, a couple months back, they got in a fight. It was pretty bad, and Gabe was really hurt. They're better now though. Sometimes they're closer to each other than to me, 'cause they had to work so much harder to get where they are."

Pastor Jim said nothing, just resumed the back-rub which seemed so soothing.

"I love them both, I do. And I'm glad they love each other as well. It's just… they'd be fine without me. Gabriel's doing well, does event planning for this promotions company. Dean used to be a prostitute, when we found him again he left that behind and now he's working for a mechanic… but his old boss invested money for him, so he's pretty well off. They've both gotten past their issues, dealt with them and moved on. I can't. Every time I hear from Lucian, I remember how it used to be, just me and him and always wondering if today he was gonna follow through on a threat and kill me, and I crawl back inside a bottle to wait it out."

"You say they'd be fine without you," Pastor Jim picked out the main points seemingly with ease. "Would they have met if not for you?"

"…no," Castiel shook his head. "Dean was my friend in school. But if not for me, Dean's dad wouldn't have died like that! He and Sammy wouldn't have had to run, he wouldn't have had to become a prostitute! And Gabriel would've had a wife, or a husband, by now, someone he could actually show affection for in public."

"Maybe, maybe not," the priest interrupted before Castiel could get further wound up. "But as things are, they have each other, and from the sounds of it, they both love you." Castiel couldn't help the small flinch at that. Pastor Jim, however, noticed it. "Castiel? Don't they love you?"

"They say they do," Cas stared at his hands again. "I just don't know why. I'm such a screw-up. I just make things worse."

"Have you tried talking to them about it? Most often, that's what breaks a relationship apart. A lack of communication."

"Dean doesn't like talking about feelings," Cas stalled. "And Gabriel can't take things seriously long enough."

Pastor Jim looked at him for a few minutes, and Castiel fought the urge to squirm under the gaze of a man he'd only known for fifteen minutes.

"No, I haven't talked to them," he finally admitted. "I don't want to burden them with my insecurities."

"Perhaps you should try," Pastor Jim encouraged him. "Perhaps they wouldn't think of it as a burden."

"Maybe."

The two sat in companionable silence for a while, and Castiel realised that he did feel better for having spoken his fears aloud. He still didn't know what to do about Lucian's hold on him, but there was someone he could talk to, who apparently wasn't going to judge him for the three-way relationship he was living in.

"Come on," Pastor Jim spoke after a while, standing and drawing Castiel up with him as well. "Let's get you home. I'll give you a lift."

"Okay," Cas nodded. He knew he'd have to explain to Gabriel and Dean where he'd been all evening, but at least he could honestly say that he hadn't done anything illegal.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: So people like Pastor Jim? Good, he's staying. The boys need adult supervision from time to time.

Warnings: Cas having a thick head, Gabriel and Dean using group sex as a reward.

-WAFD-

Gabriel sat at the kitchen table, worrying. Toffee was curled on his lap, whining every now and then since Gabriel couldn't stop twitching, and he tried to calm himself by patting the puppy. It wasn't working very well. Castiel was missing, and Dean had gone out to look for him. Gabriel had stayed at home in case he came back, or someone they knew called to say they'd found him. Worst-case scenarios kept parading in front of Gabriel's eyes, and he wished both of his lovers were home safe where he could keep an eye on them.

Suddenly, Toffee raised his head and let out a 'yip' of excitement. He raced towards the front door, tail making his whole back end quiver with the force of its wagging. Gabriel followed him, hoping it meant someone was home.

Throwing open the door, Gabriel let out a sigh of relief. Castiel was walking up the driveway, without stumbling, and an older man was walking next to him. They both glanced up, though Cas cast his eyes down again in apparent shame.

"Cas," Gabriel felt himself tense up again. "Where have you been?"

"Good evening," the man spoke when it appeared Cas had forgotten how. "I'm Pastor Jim Murphy. Castiel has been sitting in my church for most of the evening. He felt the need to talk."

-WAFD-

Pastor Jim watched as the young man's face changed completely. Where it had been tense with fear and suspicion, now relief and love shone through.

"You talked to someone…" he whispered, then reached out and pulled Castiel to him, wrapping his arms around the taller man. "Thank you."

Castiel was clinging back, burying his face in the shoulder before him. They could all hear the muffled 'sorry, I'm so sorry' as Castiel tried to regain his self-control.

"I'm Gabriel," the man in question introduced himself to Pastor Jim. "Thank you for bringing him back."

"It's not a problem," he replied, smiling a little. "Castiel, will we see you on Friday?"

Castiel nodded, gaining a puzzled look from Gabriel, and Pastor Jim decided to elaborate. He had a feeling that Gabriel would be supportive.

"There are Alcoholics Anonymous meetings at the church on Friday evenings. Castiel decided to attend."

The joy on Gabriel's face at that statement eased some of Pastor Jim's concerns about the fact that these two were brothers – Gabriel, at least, clearly did care for Castiel, and wanted him to be healthy.

"Thank you," Gabriel repeated, then turned and pressed a kiss to Castiel's temple. "Thank you," he kept repeating between kissing Castiel's face, falling quiet when he captured his brother's lips.

Taking that as his cue to leave, Pastor Jim turned and headed back to his car. Whilst intellectually he was determined to not be bothered by the odd relationship he'd stumbled across, he didn't particularly want to watch them either. Though the same could be said for any of his parishioners – Pastor Jim was simply uncomfortable with public displays of affection.

-WAFD-

Gabriel barely even noticed the priest leaving. He was too caught up in the fact that he was getting his brother back – he'd managed to not turn to drugs and alcohol tonight, he'd spoken to someone about his issues, and he was getting help for it.

Pulling Castiel back inside, Gabriel nearly stepped on Toffee before the pup managed to run back to the living room. Gabriel couldn't help but let out a laugh at that, drawing away from Cas long enough to close the front door.

"I'd better call Dean," he practically bounced to the kitchen to retrieve his phone. He quickly flipped through the contacts until he found the right one – 'Provider of Nookie' – and didn't pay attention to the way Cas sat heavily on the edge of the table.

"Is he back?" Dean's voice came down the line, not bothering with a greeting.

"Yup. He was in a church, and he's signed up for AA meetings."

"He's… Oh thank fuck."

"Exactly. Get back here so we can reward him for a smart decision."

"Will do."

Hanging up, Gabriel turned back to Cas with a grin on his face. It faltered, however, when Castiel remained staring at his own hands, still clearly upset about something.

"Cas? What's wrong?" Gabriel steeled himself for getting brushed off – again – but was taken by surprise when Castiel sighed and raised his head.

"Gabe… why do you put up with me? You said once that if I touched drugs again you'd leave, but you're still here. Why?"

"Because I love you, idiot," Gabriel sat on the table next to him, wrapping an arm around Castiel as he did so.

"But why?" Castiel looked at him with those damnable puppy-eyes. "All I do is cause trouble for you. I don't contribute anything to the household. I break down at the mere mention of Lu… Lucian," he almost choked on the name, and Gabriel tightened his hold for a moment. "Why put up with me, when you could have a normal relationship? You and Dean could be a normal couple without me here."

There was silence for a few minutes as Gabriel tried to wrap his head around Castiel's thought process.

"You're an idiot," Gabriel eventually came out with. Cas opened his mouth, but Gabriel shushed him. Whether it had been agreement or disagreement, he didn't want to hear it. "When I was ten, Michael cleaned out my room of all sweets and sugary things, then told me to stay there until dinner. A few minutes later, you came in with two bags of Reece's Pieces that you'd smuggled out before Michael could get to them. Throughout my teen years, you frequently got hold of my porn magazines, mere hours before Michael or Lucian went through my room looking for things they'd forbidden. That time Michael caught me kissing the boy down the street, he was shouting at me and you came in, upset because apparently you felt sick, so Michael was distracted by taking care of you and not punishing me. Need I go on?"

"I… you were my brother," Castiel whispered. "I didn't want to see you in trouble."

"Fine," Gabriel rolled his eyes. "You want the lover side? How about the fact that you're happy to spend entire days doing nothing but watching cartoons with me? Even when we were still working things out, you'd do things that you didn't particularly like, just to spend time together. You listen to me bitch about work, without trying to make me change jobs or something like that. And in the bedroom…" he leered at Castiel then, managing to draw a small smile in return. He slid off the table and started nuzzling at Castiel's neck. Gabriel let his hands trail underneath Castiel's shirt, exploring the familiar territory, gradually getting Cas aroused.

"I can cut loose with you, and I know that you can either take it, or you'll speak up if things are too far out of your comfort zone. You don't mind when I bite you." Gabriel demonstrated by biting down on Castiel's neck, drawing a gasp of arousal. He quickly removed Castiel's t-shirt and continued his ministrations, occasionally pressing kisses to the bare chest as he continued to speak. "And after Dean… after that happened, you didn't push me for anything. You just took care of me the best way you knew how, and then you fought him for me. I was terrified that I was going to lose you, but you came back to me."

Castiel was leaning back on his forearms now, as Gabriel started undoing his jeans. Some part of his mind said that he was meant to be apologising to Gabriel, meant to be making things up to him, but big brother seemed to have different ideas.

"Then when the three of us made a go of it, you were a buffer for us. We wouldn't have been able to get this far together without you here." With that, Gabriel knelt, took the head of Castiel's cock in his mouth and started suckling. Cas let his head fall back with a moan dragged straight from a porno, which he knew Gabriel loved. If Gabe was determined to get him off, then Cas was damn well going to make sure that Gabriel got some pleasure out of it too.

They heard Toffee start yipping again, a few seconds before the front door opened. Gabriel raised his head just long enough to shout "Kitchen!" before resuming his efforts.

Dean quickly headed to the kitchen, pausing at the sight his two lovers made, a sight he never got tired of. Then Cas was looking at him, blue eyes impossibly bright, and reaching out with one hand for him.

"Dean," Cas pleaded, and he couldn't resist. He stepped forwards, shucking his jacket and t-shirt as Cas started undoing his belt. By the time his trousers were around his ankles, Cas had managed to stroke Dean to hardness and was happily licking at him.

"You're fucking insatiable," Dean cursed as Castiel grinned up at him between licks. "Seriously, do you take Viagra every morning?"

"Not every morning," Cas shrugged, leaning back a little and tugging at Gabriel's hair. "Next time, I'm extolling your virtues before sex."

"Agreed," Gabriel let Castiel's cock fall out of his mouth as he stood, nipping at Cas' chest on the way up. "I'll never get enough of hearing how devilishly handsome and ingeniously clever I am."

"Don't forget modest," Dean smiled fondly at him, pulling him across for a kiss. This was made slightly awkward by the fact that Cas had his legs wrapped around Gabriel's hips, and was now sucking Dean's cock properly. Dean pulled back just enough to raise an eyebrow at Gabriel. "Shall we give him what he wants?"

"Yeah," Gabriel started removing his own clothes finally. "Think he deserves a reward for finally using his brains."

"I'm not a fucking dog," Castiel let go of Dean's cock to pout at them both.

"Oh we know," Gabriel turned back to his little brother. "If you were a dog we wouldn't be doing this."

"Well…"

"Dean!" Came two scandalised shouts. Dean just laughed and stroked Castiel's hair.

"Don't worry, just kidding. That's one of the few things I haven't done."

"Thank fuck," Cas nuzzled into Dean's hip.

"Yeah, otherwise I'd be taking Toffee and high-tailing it out of here," Gabriel glared, though he was absent-mindedly running his fingers up and down Castiel's abdomen.

"So," Castiel turned back to his brother, "are you gonna fuck me, or are we gonna keep chatting away?"

"Well, we do need to talk," Gabriel tilted his head, apparently considering it. At Castiel's growl, he grinned and ran a hand over Cas' hip, sliding closer to press a finger against him. "But it can wait. As long as we do actually talk later."

"Fine, whatever," Cas tried to squirm back and impale himself, without much luck. "Just hurry it up!"

"So pushy," Dean muttered, stepping backwards briefly to grab the cooking oil. With the mood Cas was in, he apparently wasn't going to wait for someone to find the actual lube.

"Part of why we love him, right?" Gabriel grinned, and received a nod. Cas fell silent at that, turning his head again to resume the interrupted blowjob he'd been giving Dean.

"It's true," Dean threaded a hand through Castiel's hair, massaging the scalp without forcing him to move any particular direction. "It's good to know what your partner wants in bed. You being vocal about it means we know what we're doing right."

"And it's really hot," Gabriel added, pressing two slicked fingers into Castiel, earning another porno-moan.

"That too," Dean blinked hard, trying to keep from thrusting into Cas' mouth. The angle was too awkward for Cas to get more than a couple of inches in his mouth, but used a hand to make up for it, as well as creative strokes of his tongue.

It didn't take long to stretch Castiel open, especially with him purposely relaxing his muscles, and soon Gabriel was thrusting his dick in, slowly going further with each stroke. Cas wrapped his legs around his brother again, perfectly content with his position on the table between his lovers.

Then Gabriel was moving again, each thrust causing Castiel's grip on Dean to change, and Dean was reaching down to stroke Castiel's erection. Their movements were slow, unhurried, as though they had all the time in the world – and in a way, they did. They had nothing better to do than simply feel, allowing the tension to build gradually instead of the usual race for completion.

Castiel was the first to come undone. He removed his mouth from Dean's cock as he gasped, hips thrusting back onto Gabriel a couple of times as Dean's hand squeezed just right, causing Cas to come over his stomach. This was enough that Gabriel sped up his own thrusts and quickly emptied himself into Castiel, while Cas returned to Dean and managed to bring him to orgasm as well.

Gabriel withdrew and sat on one of the chairs, breathing hard. It was sometimes difficult to keep up with his younger lovers, but times like this were worth it. He just rested his head on the back of the chair and smiled as Dean picked Cas up off the table, cradling him against his chest as Castiel seemed close to falling asleep.

"I'll clean him up. You coming to bed?" Dean asked, and Gabriel nodded.

"Don't trip on your pants," he muttered, realising that neither he nor Dean had completely disrobed. It drew a laugh from Dean, who quickly toed off his shoes and shook off his pants before carrying Cas towards the bathroom. Gabriel gathered all of the discarded clothes and shoved them in a pile – they could sort through it tomorrow – and gave the table a quick wipe-down. Table-sex was awesome, but they did have to eat off it in the future.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Sorry for the delay, I had real trouble writing the next bit. It was originally going to be a whole lot darker (see: Lucian had Cas kidnapped and sold on the black market), but it just wasn't flowing. So after discussion with The Boyfriend™, decided to go this route instead.

It still had difficulties, until I decided to try a whole new perspective. I know it's short, but hopefully the next part will be up in a day or two.

Warnings: Drug references, language, violence.

-WAFD-

The next morning saw Dean and Gabriel both scrambling to get ready for work on time. Cas had assured them that he'd be fine on his own, that he'd go and sit in the church for a while if he started to get cravings, but even so they were reluctant to leave him alone just yet. Eventually they left, and Castiel sat on the back steps trying to decide what to do with the day. The weather was too crummy to do laundry, and he didn't fancy gardening either. The house was relatively tidy, so no need to clean up.

He sighed and scratched at Toffee's head. This was part of his problem – boredom. While he wanted a job to help fill his days, he didn't deal with strangers well, and had no qualifications. It was difficult to even make it through an interview, much less the first month of work. So instead he was left here, doing fuck all productive, and wishing there was something to take his mind off the constant niggle in the back of his brain. Usually, he lit up and smoked a joint – since marijuana didn't really have serious long-term side-effects, he was comfortable just having one every few mornings. As long as he kept it outside and showered before the others got home, it was all good.

When he checked his stash in the garden shed, however, he saw that he was almost out. He didn't really want to go see his dealer again right now, since he'd be too tempted to buy something stronger and completely blank out. So he was left back at square one.

"Bugger this," Cas eventually muttered, and he decided to take Toffee for a walk instead. While the dog was definitely Gabriel's, all three men walked him whenever they felt like it – as a puppy, Toffee had almost boundless energy, and when it did fail, he was small enough to easily carry back home for a nap.

-WAFD-

Toffee was quite happy to go along with the suggestion of Walkies. He rather enjoyed walking with his plant-smelling human – Uncle Cas, Dad called him – the one who was almost always home with him. They had wonderful Walkies together, and after he ate the nasty-smelling smoke he liked to roll around on the lawn and play with Toffee. So together, Toffee and Uncle Cas walked down the street.

Toffee bounded around Uncle Cas' feet, investigating all of the new smells and reminding himself of the old ones. He walked underneath a bush and sniffed, recognising the smell of the Chihuahua from a few blocks over, and trotted back out again to yip at Uncle Cas and tell him.

Granted, Uncle Cas couldn't understand him, but Toffee still felt better for updating him on the situation.

When he saw that they were headed to The Park, Toffee tried to speed up. He couldn't pull Uncle Cas along, but he was giving it his best shot – there were always children there, and they were always happy to give pattings and love. He liked going to The Park.

True enough, when they got there he saw the crowd of children on the swings and slide, and yipped again in excitement. His tail was wagging so hard that his entire back end was shaking, and Uncle Cas laughed and bent down to scratch his head.

"You're a funny little thing, aren't you?" Uncle Cas spoke fondly. "Let's go say hello then."

With that, Uncle Cas unclipped his lead and Toffee sprang forwards, running towards the children that he recognised. There was a girl with long brown hair that Toffee loved to chew on, and a boy a little older who liked to play tug-of-war with him, and they were currently playing with other children too. So Toffee jumped into the middle of the group, and soon was playing happily with them as well.

Every now and then he'd look over at Uncle Cas, to make sure he hadn't wandered off. Uncle Cas could be forgetful sometimes, and didn't like to meet new people. He seemed to like watching Toffee playing with the kids though, so they both got something out of their Walkies.

After a while, he saw Uncle Cas standing with some big men that he'd talked to before. Toffee remembered them – one of them was always really nice and always had a biscuit for him. He decided that he wanted a biscuit, and ran over, though none of the children followed. Sitting at the Biscuit Man's feet, Toffee held up a paw and scratched at the Biscuit Man's leg.

"Heh, hi there Pup," the man reached into his pocket and handed over the ever-present biscuit.

"You spoil him," Uncle Cas spoke, but there wasn't anger in his voice, only amusement.

"Well, you're a good customer. And I like dogs."

"Yeah, about that…"

"You're not piking on us, are you?"

"No, of course not," Uncle Cas smelled nervous. Toffee looked up at him and whined a little as he chewed on the biscuit. Unfortunately this caused him to briefly choke, and he coughed for a moment. "Slow down, greedy," Uncle Cas nudged him with his foot. "I'm not turning you guys in, I'll probably keep up with MJ, but I'm trying to go clean with everything else. Going to AA meetings and stuff."

"Over with Pastor Jim?" One of the other men spoke. Toffee decided that things were getting boring, so since he'd finished his biscuit he started to trot back to the children.

He was halted by a loud bang, and yelped. Turning, he saw Uncle Cas falling to the ground. The men were taking things out of their pockets, and there were more bangs as Toffee ran to Uncle Cas, whimpering as he nudged Uncle Cas' face.

There were horrible smells in the air, things he didn't recognise, and an overpowering smell of blood. He nosed at Uncle Cas, trying to find the wound to lick it clean, only to be pulled away by the Biscuit Man.

"Shit. We gotta get him to hospital."

Toffee didn't like the sound of this, and let out his misery with a howl.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: So I decided that I needed to plan out the boys' house, for ease of reference, and built it in Sims 2. Then made sims of the boys and put them in the house. And promptly got distracted… Cas has given birth to Gabriel's child, and Dean's heavily pregnant. Dean's about half-way through the Law Enforcement career, Gabriel's going through Entertainment, and Cas spends his days gardening, sewing and taking care of toddler Chloe. So apologies for the delay.

There are references to gangs in this chapter, but all information is completely fabricated. I don't have experience in an actual gang, and have no knowledge of the gangland territories or names in Los Angeles.

Warnings: Drug references, language, violence.

-WAFD-

Dean arrived home that night earlier than usual. He was still worried about Cas, and it had shown all day. He'd finally been told to go home when he tried to install an alternator backwards. Parking the Impala in the garage, he quickly made his way into the house, only to find that it was empty.

"Cas?" He called, making a hurried search of all the rooms. "Castiel, this isn't funny!"

It took a few minutes before he noticed that Toffee's lead was missing, and he calmed down a little. If he was just taking the dog for a walk, he'd be back soon enough. And while waiting, Dean could make a start on dinner.

It wasn't until Gabriel pulled into the driveway half an hour later that he started to worry again.

"Dean? Castiel?" Gabriel called as he dumped his jacket on the couch. "You here?"

"Hey," Dean glanced over to where Gabriel had thrown his jacket down on the couch, one corner of his mouth quirking up a little. "Looks like Cas took Toffee for a walk."

"Looks like?" Gabriel was quick to pick up on the word choice, and the slight worry that had crept into Dean's voice.

"Neither of them were here when I got home," Dean admitted. "I didn't think… it's been a little while. They don't usually… how long do the walks normally take?"

"Ten minutes when I'm home," Gabriel immediately pulled out his phone. "He's never gone much more than that. Something's gone wrong." He scrolled down to Castiel's listing – 'Little Shit' – and waited while the phone rang.

After a few rings, it went to message bank. Gabriel growled and shoved the phone back in his pocket before starting to pace the kitchen. After a few turns, he faced Dean again.

"Right. You stay here. I'll go to that church, see if Pastor Jim's seen him. Maybe he was feeling some cravings and did the right thing."

"Maybe," Dean didn't sound convinced, but he agreed that it was worth a try. Anything was better than just waiting for Cas to show up.

Gabriel ignored the scepticism – he didn't have time for it right now – and started to leave. He froze, however, when he saw a strange man walking up the driveway with Toffee, and without Cas.

"Uh, hey," the man nodded. "You Dean or Gabriel? Castiel's… in a situation."

-WAFD-

"You're awake. Good."

Castiel grunted and blinked his eyes a few times. He felt… odd. Floaty. Kinda like when he was on some of the really good drugs, but that was bad since he'd promised Gabe and Dean that he was giving them up… He turned to look at the voice and recognised Yuri, the leader of the gang he usually bought his drugs off.

This wasn't good.

Then he realised that he was in a hospital, and the memory of that morning came flooding back.

"I got shot," Cas commented, voice a little raspy. "Why did I get shot?"

"I'll elaborate in a moment. Rusty's gone to fetch your boyfriends, best wait until they're here as well."

"Okay," Cas closed his eyes again. He was tired, and now he recognised what he was on – morphine. A wonderful painkiller, in his opinion.

Yuri, meanwhile, went back to reading his newspaper. He was a strange individual – he cultivated the image of a Russian mobster, and had the accent to match, even though he'd never set foot out of America. He was usually in perfectly tailored suits, and he had plenty of connections which meant that no one wanted to get in his way… if the rumours were to be believed. In actuality, no one knew much about him at all. Which was just how Yuri liked things to be.

"Cas!"

Castiel opened his eyes again, ready to grumble, but was cut off when lips sealed over his. He was about to protest when he recognised the hair getting in his eyes, and saw Dean standing back a little, so instead he kissed Gabriel back, trying to reassure him that he was okay.

"What the hell happened?" That was Dean, who dealt with threats by beating the shit out of them.

"Now that you're all here," Yuri spoke up, "I'll explain. We've been rivals with the Almansor Boys for a while now. Bunch of idiots, but they're well-armed. Haven't wanted to risk civilian casualties by trying to run them off before. However, now that they've opened fire on one of ours…"

"One of yours?" Gabriel stiffened, clearly not impressed. Cas snuck a glance at Dean, who looked similarly unhappy.

"Castiel's been one of our clients for some time now," Yuri commented lightly. "He's never gotten in debt to us, never brought the cops down on us either. Thus, he's ours to protect. And we're well within our rights to retaliate on his behalf."

"Why would they have tried to kill Cas?" Dean spoke up. "What good did it do them?"

"None," Yuri shrugged. "Which is why we're going to be asking questions. Firing on random buyers in someone else's territory… it's not done. It's as good as declaring a turf war." With that, he stood and buttoned his jacket. "If you'll excuse me, I have some executions to oversee."

He left the room then, and Cas hung his head, fiddling with the edge of the blanket. Gabriel and Dean both looked pissed, which never boded well.

To Castiel's surprise, though, they just sighed and moved closer. Dean sat at the foot of the bed, while Gabriel ran his hands down Cas' arms and took his hands.

"Cas?" Gabriel spoke gently. "Look at me. What happened? Why were you with them today?"

"I didn't seek them out, I swear it," Cas looked up, begging Gabriel to believe him with his eyes. "I was just taking Toffee for a walk, something to distract myself. But some of the guys were in the park, and they spoke to me, and I told them I was trying to get clean. I mentioned the AA meetings, and Rusty mentioned Pastor Jim, and then… it's fuzzy. I'm not really sure what happened." He hung his head again, unable to face his lovers. "I swear, I didn't go looking for anything."

"Okay," Gabriel leaned forwards and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Okay. Where'd you get shot?"

"I… don't know," Cas managed a weak smile. "Only woke up a couple minutes before you walked in. Can't really feel much, they've got me on morphine."

"Let's have a look then," Gabriel let go of his hands and pulled the blankets back. It was only then that Castiel realised that he was completely naked, and wondered where his clothes were. There were several dressings across his abdomen, and both Dean and Gabriel winced. From the look of things, Cas should have been dead, not mildly uncomfortable and on morphine.

Dean looked away, out the window, and gritted his teeth. If he ever got his hands on whoever had tried to take Cas away…

There was gonna be hell to pay.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Next chapter! Yay for insomnia! Also: now on Twitter. Random writing updates and funny quotes from the family. Username ChefGeekier.

-WAFD-

The next few days passed in something of a blur for Castiel. He was never entirely sure whether he was awake or just dreaming, and he wasn't sure if he'd spoken properly to Gabriel or Dean since that first day. The medical staff had been keeping him doped up, which was nice in that he didn't have to worry about pain, but slightly worrying given his addictive personality.

When he was lucid for longer periods again, Cas recognised that he was no longer in hospital. He was tucked up in his own bed at home, Gabriel and Dean either side of him while Toffee was curled up at their feet. He waited for a while, just listening to the sound of contented breathing.

After a few minutes he shifted, trying to sit up. His bladder was protesting rather fiercely, though it was difficult to extricate himself without waking his lovers at the best of times. Sure enough, Dean and Gabriel both woke quite quickly.

"Woah there," Dean tried to gently push him back into the bed. "Take it easy. You're bedridden, doctor's orders."

"You want me to wet the bed?" Cas snarked back, making Dean blink.

"Oh. Uh, well, c'mon. I'll help you."

"Thanks," Castiel whispered, not wanting help for this but realising he needed it. Standing upright for more than a few seconds was going to be difficult.

"You gonna be up for talking after?" Gabriel commented. Castiel shrugged and pulled a face.

"I don't know. We can try. And if I pass out, we'll take it as a hint to wait for a few more days."

"Fair enough," Gabriel nodded and scooped up Toffee, ensuring that the pup wouldn't get underfoot.

Soon enough, Cas was situated back in bed, resting his head on Gabriel's shoulder while Dean trailed a hand up and down his arm. It was soothing, just what he needed to get through the conversation he was fairly sure was coming.

"So," Gabriel started for him. "That guy, Yuri. He said that you're a regular client."

"Yeah," Cas murmured. "I've been buying from the same guys since we moved here. Bit before that, actually. I, uh… I never gave up pot. It's not physically addictive, it doesn't have long-term side effects, so once or twice a week I sit outside and light up… when I feel too useless or upset. It calms me down. And whenever I went on a bender, I dealt with them. Even before we moved here – they have a reputation for not killing their clients with impure drugs."

"Okay," Gabriel nodded. "And that bit about you being a good client?"

"I always paid cash up front," Castiel told him. "Never got into debt. Never had to work off payments. I just… I couldn't put you through that. Even when I wanted to forget everything, I couldn't risk anyone coming after either of you."

"That's something, I guess," Dean spoke softly, seemingly afraid of spooking Cas. "Do you… can we talk about why?"

"Why what?" Cas avoided looking at his face. Dean's grip on his arm tightened slightly, and Gabriel tapped Castiel's nose with a finger.

"Why the benders?" Gabriel encouraged him. "Why not just talk to us?"

"Because you won't want to hear it," Castiel whispered, burying his face in Gabriel's neck. "Because as soon as I come clean, you'll leave me, or try to get me locked up, or send me back to Lu… Lucian." He was shaking then, clearly on the verge of a panic attack. Gabriel and Dean shared a wide-eyed look, and quickly moved to pin Castiel between them, so that he could feel Gabriel at his front and Dean at his back.

"We're not going anywhere," Dean assured him. "No matter what."

"Look at what we've already been through together," Gabriel pointed out. "If I could get over Dean forcing me, why wouldn't I be able to get over whatever it is that's bugging you?"

Dean had flinched a little at the reminder of his past actions, but recovered quickly. He just had to take Gabriel's word for it, that he really was okay now.

"I think…" Castiel started, then paused. He tried again after a few seconds. "I think Lucian was behind the shooting. I think he tried to have me killed."

"Cas, why would he do that?" Gabriel shifted a little, confused. Why would Castiel think that Lucian was capable of that?

"Because I know… I know too much about him," Castiel was shaking again, eyes screwed shut so that he didn't have to look at either of the other men. "I know what he used to do, and if I went to the cops, or worse the press, he'd go down. Even if it couldn't be proved anymore."

"What did he do?" Dean asked softly. He had his suspicions, and was already planning a little road-trip. Lucian was overdue a damn good thrashing in his opinion.

"Used to shout at me, tell me how I was worthless. After you both left, he'd make me… made me do anything he could think of to degrade me. Hit me sometimes. I turned to drugs to try and get away from him, make him leave me alone. Didn't work. He said… said if I tried to get away then he'd kill me. I think he only hasn't tried before because he loves you, Gabriel. Knew that it would hurt you, if I was killed when you were trying to take care of me. And he probably knew how broken I was by then, that I wouldn't be able to talk about it."

"Bastard," Dean growled, and held Castiel closer. "Cas, listen to me. It wasn't your fault, nothing he did was your fault."

"It was," Cas started shivering harder, to the point where Gabriel was starting to get seriously worried. "He had… fuck, Dean he's the one who ordered the hit on your father."

"…What?"

"He knew how I felt about you," Castiel whispered into Gabriel's neck. Dean and Gabriel had both frozen, looking at Cas in horror. "He knew that Gabriel would be leaving for college soon, knew that taking you both away would make me fall apart… make me an easy target. He used his contacts and paid off someone to shoot John during a drug bust… it looked like just a random shooting that could have happened to any officer. But he made sure I knew it was my fault. If I hadn't… if I didn't love you so much, he wouldn't have taken John away."

Dean didn't know what to do, how to react to that. He'd spent the last decade thinking that his father's death had been random, the act of a desperate criminal trying not to get arrested for drug manufacture and distribution.

He looked down at Castiel, who was curled into Gabriel as much as he could be, clearly thinking that Dean was going to reject him for this. Thinking that Dean was going to blame him for it too.

Making a decision, Dean gently pried Cas away and leaned down to kiss him. Cas let out a muffled sound of surprised, which Dean easily devoured, and after a moment started to relax. Dean waited until he was pliant, then pulled back and looked directly into Castiel's eyes.

"I said it before, and I'm sure I'll say it again. Lucian's a dick. My dad… his death is on Lucian, and the scum who pulled the trigger. Not you. You hear me? You're not the one to blame, and I'm not going anywhere."

-WAFD-

Dean slammed his fist against the wall, furious. He wanted so much to kill Lucian himself, maybe punch him until he was just a paste on the floor… maybe strangle him… maybe shove money down his throat – he'd paid for one death, why not pay for another?

Ever since he could remember, family had been the most important thing to Dean. While he and Sam might not technically be talking at the moment, he knew that Sam loved him. He just couldn't imagine hurting his Sammy the way Lucian had hurt Cas.

The years of blame and abuse were easily discernible now that Dean knew what to look for. Cas was still so paranoid, thinking that people were out to get him – they'd assumed that it was because of the drugs he'd spent so long taking, but maybe it wasn't. He was always down-playing his own achievements too, always thinking that he didn't deserve praise or even acknowledgement. Dean now knew that it was Lucian's conditioning that had left him always expecting criticism, never praise. Even the past several years of love from Gabriel hadn't been enough to remedy the situation.

So Dean was angry. But he'd be smart about this, he and Gabriel had agreed that they couldn't approach Lucian by themselves. Yuri had confirmed Castiel's fears, it had been Lucian who had paid off the rival gang to kill him. It would have easily been dismissed by police as just another drug-related shooting, especially with Castiel's history.

Since the confirmation, Castiel hadn't left the house. He was too afraid, was certain that Lucian would try again. It broke Dean's heart, seeing Cas always so afraid. Gabriel was furious as well, and Dean knew he felt guilty. Lucian liked Gabriel, so he'd never been the target of the older brother's anger. Hadn't even considered that things could be so bad for Castiel. Now his eyes were open though, and Gabriel was going to find a way to tear Lucian down.

Which led to Dean picking up the phone and dialling someone who might not want to help them, but who would know the legal hoops better than they did.

"Hey Sammy. I need your help."


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: I think this is the final chapter… if there's something I haven't wrapped up, let me know and I'll put up an epilogue.

Warnings: Cavity-inducing sweetness, and porn.

-WAFD-

Sam moved quickly, Dean had to admit. Within hours, agents from the local Naval Criminal Investigative Service branch had arrived on their doorstep and had taken statements from all three men, reassuring Cas as best they could. There had since been an armed guard outside of the house, and Dean was pretty sure that Castiel's gangster friends were watching them as well.

A few days later, Dean answered the door to see someone he recognised.

"Michael. It's been a while. Or should I call you Major?" Dean stepped back and allowed him entry. Of all the people he'd thought might show up, Cas and Gabe's oldest brother wasn't one of them. Hell, he didn't think they'd really spoken in years.

"Michael is fine," the older man nodded. He held himself straight, giving off a commanding presence even if he was the same height as Dean. "I assisted the federal agents who were investigating Castiel's claims against Lucian… I wanted to come and check on him myself. Tell him everything that's going on."

Dean looked carefully at Michael, wary of letting him near Cas. The man had been absent for large portions of Castiel's life, and hadn't figured out that there was a problem. He wasn't sure if he trusted Michael around Cas. Still, Gabriel was going to be there too, and even if the two had never really seen eye to eye, Gabriel wouldn't let anything bad happen to Cas. Dean had to trust him.

"This way," Dean nodded and turned to show him in. "I have to warn you though, Cas is pretty messed up right now."

Gabriel and Castiel had been curled up together in the study, Gabriel reading to Cas from an old book of fairy tales. Dean smiled a little at the image – Cas curled up practically in Gabriel's lap as he soaked up the affection.

"Hey guys," Dean sank to the floor next to them. "We've got a visitor."

"Gabriel," Michael nodded to his brother, who looked stunned to see him. "Castiel. I wanted to come and talk to you personally about what happened." He paused, seemingly searching for the right words. Dean couldn't blame him for being hesitant, Castiel was staring at his oldest brother with a completely blank expression. It would be off-putting for anyone.

"So talk," Gabriel ground out. He obviously wasn't in such a forgiving mood. "Do you know what's going on with Lucian now?"

"Yes," Michael nodded, seemingly grateful for a place to start. "A trial was held, and one of the agents presented your statements without having to drag you into the media frenzy. The jury found Lucian guilty of political corruption, conspiracy to murder, misapplication of public funds, and a few other things. He's on his way to prison… via the hospital."

"Via hospital?" Dean raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"

"It was the darndest thing," Michael commented, voice betraying nothing. "I was helping him out of his car, and he slipped and fell. Wound up with a broken arm. And a few broken ribs. And some missing teeth, fractured jaw, broken nose, dislocated hip…"

"You fought him?" Castiel whispered, speaking up for the first time. He looked so surprised, and Dean saw the heartbreak in Michael's gaze.

"I should have fought him sooner," he reached out and took Castiel's hand. "Cas, I should have been there for you. If I'd been around more often, if I'd kept in touch better… you shouldn't have had to deal with that by yourself. I'm so sorry for not listening to you more."

"You're not my father," Castiel shrugged, though he kept holding Michael's hand. "You shouldn't have had to take care of us. You did the best you could… though it would have been nice to have you around more."

"And you, Gabriel," Michael looked up, catching the gaze of the middle brother. The two stared warily at each other for a moment, before Michael hung his head again. "I never treated you as an adult. But you've taken better care of Castiel than anyone. I'm proud of you, Gabriel, and Mum would have been too."

"Thanks," Gabriel nodded, eyes fixed on Castiel.

Dean leaned against the wall and just watched. Of all the things he'd thought would come of Lucian being arrested, having Michael back in their lives wasn't one of them. While it was good that they were getting a decent brother, it would be difficult to hide from him the fact that his little brothers were regularly screwing each other.

-WAFD-

Dean lay stretched out on the grass of their back yard. It was peaceful here at the moment – Gabe was out walking Toffee, Cas was at in AA meeting, Sammy had called earlier in a panic because Jess was late for her period, Michael had confirmed that Lucian had been declared mentally unstable and unfit for rehabilitation, which meant the bastard was spending the rest of his days in a maximum security facility. All was right with Dean's world.

A shadow fell across his face, and Dean looked up. Cas stood there, smiling down at him as though he shared the peaceful feeling. Dean didn't hesitate, he grabbed Castiel's hand and tugged him down onto the ground with him, quickly rolling to pin the now-laughing man underneath him.

"Hey, Cas," Dean gently bumped Castiel's nose with his own.

"Hey Dean," Cas smiled.

"I missed you," Dean admitted as he started stroking Castiel's side. "These last few weeks have been horrible without you."

"I know," Castiel leaned up to kiss him briefly, chastely. "I don't like it when I fall apart either. I'll try not to do so in future… there's not really any need for it anymore."

"True." With a triumphant gleam in his eye, Dean arched his neck down and started pressing kisses to whatever skin he could reach. Castiel had slowly been going back to normal ever since Michael's visit, and now seemed to be even calmer than before his meltdown. Dean was able to see echoes of when they'd been children, when Cas had been the calm one, able to shrug off anything, and it was wonderful to have him back.

Castiel responded enthusiastically to Dean's touch, wriggling out of his t-shirt and pulling a familiar tube from his pocket.

"Planning on this?" Dean asked with a grin.

"Of course," Castiel smiled back. "I'm insatiable, remember?"

"Damn straight," Dean shrugged out of his own shirts quickly so that he could press back down, chest flush against Castiel's. He nipped at Cas' lips, quickly controlling the kiss as Castiel drew patterns on the skin of Dean's back.

Dean jumped a little when Castiel slid his hands inside the back of Dean's jeans, grabbing his arse to pull him forwards. He ignored the laugh the shorter man let out, breaking the kiss to look up at him with happy blue eyes. It was a sight Dean would never get sick of.

"Aw, you started without me?"

Dean and Cas looked up, seeing Gabriel mock-pouting at them. He was leaning against the door, and they could hear Toffee inside whining to be let out to play with them.

"Get over here," Castiel demanded, holding out a hand imperiously.

Gabriel chuckled and made his way over, shedding his own jacket and shirt as he drew closer. Dean tugged him down as well, quickly moving to tangle a hand in Gabriel's hair and catch his mouth in a fierce kiss. Meanwhile, Castiel went to work undoing everyone's pants, sneaking a hand inside Gabriel and Dean's underwear to stroke them to hardness.

Not that they needed much encouragement, mind. Their bodies all recognised that things were better again, and that it was time to reassure each other that they were all still here.

It didn't take long to remove the remaining clothes. In a matter of minutes, Dean was kneeling on the grass, Cas straddling his lap, Gabriel pressed up behind him. He'd lost track of whose hands were where, all he knew was that there were fingers up his arse and he was helping to stretch Castiel. He nipped at the skin in front of him, then arched back to kiss the face behind him.

Once he was ready, he felt the fingers withdraw and relaxed as much as he could. He didn't often bottom, but he enjoyed it on the occasions Gabriel felt like topping him. It felt good as he felt Gabriel make short thrusts, gradually seating himself deeper, and he let out a groan of arousal as he withdrew his fingers from Cas.

Castiel seemed to have the right idea, and lifted himself so that Dean could line up properly. Their blue-eyed boy was much more accustomed to the act of taking it up the arse than Dean was, and quickly slid down so that Dean was trapped between him and Gabriel. The three stayed like that, pressed as tightly together as possible, feeling the wind on their skin and the sun shining down on them.

Then the brothers started moving, sharing wicked little glances over Dean's shoulder. Dean wasn't sure when this had become about him, about teasing him, but they were so good at it that he didn't protest.

Dean was the first to find his climax, the sensations of being surrounded by Novaks too much to bear for long. He tipped his head back, leaning on Gabriel's shoulder as he breathed hard and tried not to shout. He had just enough presence of mind left to remember that they were in their back yard, and drawing attention right now wouldn't be a good idea.

Falling forwards, Dean landed on top of Castiel as Gabriel gave a few short, jerky thrusts and released into him, biting into Dean's shoulder to muffle the cries he wanted to give. They both panted for a moment, regaining their breath, until they heard Cas whimper.

"Come on, guys, help me out here!"

"Of course, Cas," Dean nodded, and fought off the fact that he really wanted to go to sleep. Instead he managed to extricate himself from Gabriel's grip, and shifted so that he could lick at Castiel's cock.

Gabriel noticed what he was doing and joined him. With both tongues running over him, and the pair trading kisses around the head of Castiel's dick, Cas didn't last much longer. He bit into his own wrist to keep quiet, as Dean and Gabriel swallowed down his release.

They barely managed to get dressed and stumble back into the house. Toffee was beside himself with glee at being reunited with his people, and joined them as they all flopped down onto the bed to nap for a while.

Yes, Dean thought as he watched his lovers and pet fade to sleep, life was finally good again.

-WAFD-

A/N: Whew, we're done! I doubt if there are going to be more stories in this universe… maybe one-shots, drive-by whumpings, but for now I've got other stories to focus on. Thanks for reading this far.


End file.
